Hepatits & Vaccines Flashcards
Viral Hepatitis - overview
Hepatits: inflammation of the liver
Primary & Secondary viral agents
Primary: A, B, C, D, E & G (95% of cases)
Secondary: EBV, CMV, Herpes virus
Acute & chronic forms
Hepatitis A
Underdeveloped/developing countries
Fecal-oral transmission during early phase of accute illness (shed in feces up to 4 weeks after infection)
Incidence not increased in health care workers or dialysis
Hepatits B
Decreasing dramatically in last 15 years in US
Transmission through blood transfusion, needlestick accidents, contaminated needles.
Can be transmitted in the absence of obvious parenteral exposure
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s SUPER INFECTION (with Hep D)
Hepatits C
Prevalent in US & Western Europe
Major cause of chronic hepatits worldwide
Transmission primarily by percutaneous contact with infected blood/blood products
Healthcare workers need to take care to avoid needlestick injuries
Hepatits D
Severe & rapidly progressive liver disease
No proven effective therapy :(
Hepatits E
Fecal-oral tranmission, associated with poor sanitation
Not associated with chonic liver disease
Most infections self-limited, mild.
10-20% of HEV infections in pregnane wormen result in fulminant hepitits (especially in 3rd trimester)
Hepatitis G
Blood borne agent.
Transmission via blood transfusion, IV drug users.
Common coinfection HCV. 900-2000 infections per year, most asymptomatic.
Chronic disease rare/may not occur at all.
Goal of Vaccination
To produce artificially acquired, active immunity against a specific disease
Vaccination against contagious infectious diseases worldwide has been a positive influence
Promotes herd immunity—majority of population has immunity to specific microbe
What is a Vaccine
Purpose is to stimulate active immunity and create an immune memory so exposure of an active disease microorganism will stimulate the immune system to fight the disease
Traditional vaccine—biological suspension of weakened or killed entire pathogens so they cannot cause disease
Vaccine History
Vaccination saves approx. 3 million people a year
History actually begins as early as 1000 BCE China with smallpox
Between the 1940s-1980s there was reduced antivaccination movement
-Boom in scientific discovery and production
-Desire to protect children
-Increase in birth rate among more educated and affluent parent who accepted use of vaccines
1970s—more vaccines added to the schedule—antivax movement increased
1990s—suspicion of vaccines causing autism
Inactivated Vaccines
Manufactured by killing an infectious microbe with chemicals, heat, or radiations
More stable and safer than live vaccines (can’t mutate back to disease causing state)
Don’t require refrigeration and can be stored and shipped in freeze-dried form
Stimulate a weaker immune response than live viruses
Innactivated Whole Virus Vaccines
Polio, influenza, hepatitis A, rabies, Japanese encephalitis
Innactivated Whole Bacteria Vaccines
Pertussis, cholera, typhoid
Live, Attenuated Vaccines
Due to advances in tissue culture techniques
Created by modifying a disease-producing “wild” virus or bacterium that had been weakened in the lab to prevent the organism from causing disease
Closest thing to exposure to natural infection
Provoke strong cellular and antibody immune response, often life-long immunity
More difficult to create for complex pathogens like bacteria and parasites
Live, Attenuated Viral Vaccines
MMR, rotavirus, smallpox, varicella, yellow fever, zoster, polio (oral), influenza (nasal)
Live, Attenuated Bacterial Vaccines
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) (mycobacterium)
oral typhoid
Nucleic Acid Vaccines
Gene-based vaccines simply encode a chosen viral protein in DNA or mRNA
Able to induce both specific humoral and cellular immune responses
Allow a high degree of adaptability to encode for any antigen
DNA Vaccines
Dispense with both the whole organism and its components
Use the genes that code for antigens
Evokes a strong antibody response to the free-floating antigen secreted by cell
Stimulates a strong cellular response against microbial antigens displayed on cell surfaces
RNA VAccines - background info
Represent the most recently developed technology
Vaccines based on mRNA are an intermediary between DNA and protein
mRNA molecule is composed of nucleotides linked in a unique order to convey genetic information for the cells to produce the proteins or antigens encoded by mRNA